1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium which may select a service providing device in order to utilize services provided by the service providing device. The present invention also relates to a method of determining such a service providing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A service called cloud computing provides services using resources on a network. A user may use the cloud computing without being aware of the existence or location of the resources. For example, the user may achieve the user's goal by sending information to a server on the network, in order for unspecified servers (or a cloud of computers) to perform processes on the information, such as storing, analyzing, and converting.
Conventionally, the cloud computing refers to a service receivable by the general user mainly via a public network. However, there is also a type of cloud computing that provides a service only to a particular user via an intranet of a company, for example. In order to distinguish the two types of cloud computing, the first type will be referred to as “public cloud computing”, and the latter type will be referred to as “private cloud computing”.
In the case of the private cloud computing, there is no need for the user to be aware of the resources, and the user may access a specific server in order to receive a service that is provided. According to a Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-537829, for example, the cloud computing may not be intended, however, a policy executing module enables an authenticated client to make access to a service network, by executing a rule for client access to the service network according to an authentication policy of the service network. The policy executing module may further enable the authenticated client to permit other clients within the service network to use the service network.
An index called SLA (Service Level Agreement) may indicate a service level of the cloud computing. Each cloud service provider may lay open to public its SLA on a Web site, for example, and inform the service level of the cloud computing provided thereby in order to attract potential clients who may wish to sign a contract to use the cloud computing service.
The services or processes provided by the cloud computing service may include a logical data processing and/or a physical data processing such as printing. A result may be obtained by appropriately combining the types of cloud computing and the types of services depending on the user's purpose for using the cloud computing service. Hence, it may be rational for the user to wish receiving an optimum service that is provided every time a service is used by referring to the SLA. However, it may be difficult for the user to select and combine the services to obtain an optimum combination by referring to a large number of SLAs that are laid open to public individually by each of the cloud service providers, because of time constraints and also because no technique has been established that may help with the user's selection of the services.